News

August 8 2013

Child Taken From Marijuana Using Parents, Murdered in Foster Care

One of the more horrific examples of how the war on marijuana hurts families is making the rounds right now, and it illustrates just one of the more serious hypocrisies of prohibition.

Last week, the story broke that a two-year-old child had sustained fatal injuries at the hands of her foster care provider. After the parents were called to the hospital for the last days of their Alexandria Hill’s life, the death was ruled a homicide and the foster guardian charged with murder.

Alexandria Hill

This would be tragic by itself, if not for the additional circumstances surrounding the case. According to the parents, the child was removed from their custody because it was discovered that they used marijuana while the child was asleep. She was kept in state custody even after her father reported noticing bruises and other signs of abuse and neglect during their visits.

According to child protection services around the country, marijuana use is synonymous with neglect. There are a shocking number of cases where families are ripped apart because of a parent’s marijuana use, even in states where that use is legal for medical reasons. Marijuana is also frequently employed as a weapon in divorce custody battles.

There are many reasons to place children in foster care, but that placement should never put the child at greater risk. Responsible marijuana use alone is nowhere close to a good enough reason for inflicting such trauma on a family.

After all, this would not have happened if the parents were responsibly sipping a glass of wine after they had put their daughter to bed.